The images from the Atlas van Stolk are currently stored in the Schielandshuis. In 2019 was the final exhibition of images in the Kunsthal, Museumpark Rotterdam. The owners of the collection are searching for a new location. The intention is that the collection can be shown to the public again at this new permanent location.

Many photos, drawings and maps are available digitally. Atlas van Stolk Online

Atlas van Stolk

The collection goes back to the beginning of the nineteenth century when Rotterdammer Abraham van Stolk began preserving striking prints. This developed into a passion in which he kept not only photographs but also maps and drawings. Abraham van Stolk’s wish was to keep the collection in the family and to expand it even further. More than thirty years after his death the collection has been housed in the Atlas van Stolk foundation. From the foundation, the collection is still being expanded, and at important events in the Netherlands, art photographers are commissioned to record and thus further develop the collection.

The Atlas van Stolk collection is on loan to the Municipality of Rotterdam because of the historical value of perhaps the most significant image collection in the Netherlands. The entire collection is digitized through a large project, which will be ready in 2021.

Beeldkraken is a project of Atlas van Stolk

In today’s digital age, young people get to see many images that influence them, often unconsciously. This project teaches young people to look at the message of an image consciously. By doing so, they remain critical about what they see and think about whether an image is reliable. Of course, the lessons make use of Atlas van Stolk’s collection. In the lessons they show a photo to the students and ask them questions about that same photo. No particular methodology is used, but the starting point is to look critically at an image. This increases awareness among young people.

Unfortunately, this project is only available in Dutch. Beeldkraken